BMP7 Gene involved in nonsyndromic orofacial clefts in Western han Chinese

Background: Nonsyndromic orofacial clefts (NSOCs) are the most common craniofacial birth defects with complex etiology in which multiple genes and environmental exposures are involved. Bone morphogenetic protein 7 (BMP7), as a member of the transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) superfamily, has been shown to play crucial roles in palate and other orofacial ectodermal appendages development in animal models. Material and Methods: This study was designed to investigate the possible associations between BMP7 gene and the NSOCs (221 case-parent trios) in Western Han Chinese. Five tagSNPs at BMP7, rs12438, rs6099486, rs6127973, rs230188 and rs6025469 were picked and tried to cover the entire gene. In order to identify the contribution of BMP7 gene to the etiology of NSOCs, we performed several statistical analysis from different aspects including transmission disequilibrium test (TDT), pairwise linkage disequilibrium (LD), parent-of-origin effect and Chi-squared/Fisher’s exact tests. Results: Rs6127973 G allele and G/G homozygotes were over-transmitted for both NSOCs ( P =0.005 and P =0.011, respectively) and NSCL/P ( P =0.0061 and P =0.011, respectively), rs6127973 G allele was also paternally over- transmitted for both NSOCs ( P =0.0061) and NSCL/P ( P =0.011). Conclusions: This study suggested that rs6127973 may be a risk factor of being NSOCs and confirmed the role of BMP7 gene in orofacial deformity from Western Han Chinese, which will also supply scientific evidence for future research and genetic counseling

Life cycle assessment of selected wind turbines

Wind energy is known as clean and renewable energy. However, wind turbine, as the main wind energy generation device, may lead to environmental impacts during manufacturing process, transportation, installation, operation, and recycling. In this research, environmental effects of selected small Vestas V34/330, medium Vestas V82/1500 and large Vestas V90/3000 scale (330 kW, 1.5 MW and 3.0 MW), and hub heights of 40 m, 100 m and 100 m wind turbines were analyzed and compared with life cycle assessment methodology. The three wind turbine models were analyzed individually and compared with each other in wind farm Alta II (Vestas) locate in Kern, CA, U.S. This study takes into account the environmental impacts of all aspects of the manufacturing, utilization, decommissioning, and recovery phases of wind turbines. Gabi 6 software was used to conduct the life cycle analysis. A complete system comparison of the selected wind turbines was completed including environmental impact, energy consumption of the production process, and energy payback time. The results could serve as reference when selecting the best wind turbine for wind farm development. Keywords

A case study on safety measures at median openings on four-lane trunk roads in China

This paper describes the safety improvements that were made to an 11km long section of Class-I highway in Hexian county in the province of Anhui (chainage K45 to chainage K56) and summarizes the results of tests used to evaluate the likely changes in risk. Class-I highways mainly function as arterial highways with high design speeds (e.g. 80km/h, 100km/h) but have at-grade intersections and access points (that is, they are not accessed controlled). They typically have two lanes in each direction with a median. Following the occurrence of two deaths and four injuries on the road section during a four month period, conditions on the road were examined, including conducting a ChinaRAP assessment, and improvements were rapidly made. The improvements included speed management, adjustment of median openings, installation of protected turn lanes and delineation. In the 12 months after the improvements were made, no fatal or serious crashes occurred. Evaluations also show that there have been reductions in speed, improvements in the ChinaRAP risk scores and good acceptance of the changes by the local community

Impact of Bivalirudin on Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury in Patients with Reperfused STEMI Assessed by Cardiac Magnetic Resonance

Thrombin is an important ischemia/reperfusion injury (IRI) mediator in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). This study examines the use of bivalirudin, a direct thrombin inhibitor, in reducing IRI in STEMI patients. STEMI patients (n = 21) were treated with bivalirudin and compared to 21 patients treated with unfractionated heparin (UFH) from the EARLY Assessment of Myocardial Tissue Characteristics by CMR in STEMI (EARLY-MYO-CMR) registry (NCT03768453). Infarct size (IS) and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) were comparable between the two groups at follow up. During the first cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) scan within the first week after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), all patients in both the bivalirudin and UFH groups exhibited myocardial edema. However, the myocardium edema volume was significantly less in the bivalirudin group (p p p < 0.05). These findings were corroborated by T2 and T1 mapping results. The study concluded that the use of bivalirudin for anticoagulation is associated with attenuated IRI in STEMI patients who receive primary PCI

Synthesis of micro/nanostructured Co9S8 cubes and spheres as high performance anodes for lithium ion batteries

Micro/nanostructured Co9S8 cubes and spheres (S-Co9S8) were successfully prepared with Co3O4 as templates via the vapor-based anion exchange reaction. The morphology and structure of both materials were characterized by SEM and XRD. Co9S8 microcubes and microspheres were composed of nanoparticles, inheriting the micro/nanostructure of Co3O4 precursors. Tested in lithium ion batteries, C-Co9S8 and S-Co9S8 anodes exhibited high specific capacities, excellent cycle stability (C-Co9S8: 369 mAh g−1, S-Co9S8: 370 mAh g−1 over 300 cycles at 1C) and high rate performances (C-Co9S8: 450 mAh g−1, S-Co9S8: ∼430 mAh g−1 at 5C)

Review on resins used for embedding samples expressing fluorescent protein.

<p>Review on resins used for embedding samples expressing fluorescent protein.</p

Different formulation of GMA and its fluorescence preservation.

a<p>For each group, mean value of fluorescence preservation of 6 neurons is calculated.</p

Comparison of fluorescence preservation and penetration ability of four resins.

a<p>the pH of four resins is tested with pH meter.</p>b<p>Fluorescence preservation of a neuron = fluorescence intensity of neuron after embedding/fluorescence intensity of neuron before embedding * 100%. For each resin, at least fluorescence preservation of 6 neurons are analyzed and then averaged.</p

Fluorescence intensity of neurons is improved with optimized GMA resin.

<p>Brain sections imaged with two-photon microscopy using the same parameter settings before (a, b) and after embedding (a 1, b 1). Scale bar, 20 µm. Each image is a max-projection of the image stacks of the brain slice (thickness: 20 µm).</p

Morphology of pyramidal neurons (hippocampus) is well preserved after being embedded in optimized GMA resin.

<p>A brain section from a Thy1-eYFP-H mouse imaged with two-photon microscopy before (a) and after embedding (b). (c) Merged images from (a) and (b). Scale bar, 20 µm. Each image is a max-projection of the image stacks of the brain slice (thickness: 60 µm).</p